


Stay Alive

by Walker_August



Category: Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Injury, Male-Female Friendship, Mentor/Protégé, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-08 14:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17387798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walker_August/pseuds/Walker_August
Summary: August Walker x OC (platonic friendship) based on the prompt:“My idea was that Walker could be like a mentor/older brother figure to the reader. Like what would happen if they took a bullet for Walker, and how would he react to that?“





	Stay Alive

“So what are you teaching me that I had to be awake at 6am for, old man?” her voice rings out across the empty gym as Meghan Barnes makes her way towards the mats where August is already waiting for her. He stands there arms crossed, giving her a pained look and then rolling his eyes at the insult. They’re only 5 years apart but Meghan loves to remind August of that at every chance she gets.

“Maybe we need to go over the lesson about being on time. I have no idea how they even let you in the to CIA with such bad timekeeping” he chides, annoyed but no more than usual. Meghan just laughs, brown eyes shining despite the dark bags under her eyes. She’s been an absolute pain in the ass for August for the last year and a half that he’s known her, but they both know he feels a deep kinship with her and she reciprocates. It’s one of the few friendships in August’s life and he cherishes it more than he could say.

When she finally makes it over to the mats, dragging her feet all the way, he points at her shoes with a look of serious judgement – not the right ones to wear when sparring – and she removes them without a word.

“Did you warm up?” he asks, already knowing her answer.

“Do I need to, really? When am I gonna have time to warm up on a mission?”

He knows she’s just trying to rile him up, but she’s infuriating.

“Warm up. I don’t need you getting injured before we even get you back out in the field”

She sighs but complies, so eager to get back out on another mission after her first a couple months ago. Her team leader at the time had decreed that although she’d done a fair job she was potentially volatile and more training time was needed before she could be put on another team. So she had gone to see her unlikely friend, the legendary Hammer, and convinced August to train her more, harder, to push her limits and get her where she needed to be.

August paces as she stretches, looking at him over her shoulder when she asks “Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, Aug? You’re grumpier than usual, and that’s saying something” smiling sweetly when he glares at her.

“No, Meg. But I had a call from the director last night about a mission they need me on. I’ve been told to put together a team-” he holds his hand up when she gasps and looks excitedly at him “-and I’m putting your name down. But I need you to prove to me that you’re ready, Meghan, and that I can trust you to follow my orders”.

He sees the fire in her eyes straight away, her urgency to prove herself. She stands and meets him in the middle of the mat.

“I can do this, August. I am ready”

“Show me” is all he says, getting in to neutral position, eyes locked with hers. All her lessons surging through her head as she makes her first lunge at him and he dodges. Even though August is bigger, more powerful, they’re evenly matched because of her speed and agility. Meghan challenges August in ways he’s not used to; not only is she feisty and totally unafraid of him but she really takes to heart the lesson to always fight dirty when you’re up against a criminal. The fight is close, the whole way, she’s working harder than she ever has before. She wants this so much.

Just when August thinks he has the upper hand, getting just a little to cocky about it, Meghan aims a low kick and trips him. August falls to the floor with a loud thump as the wind gets knocked out of him, and Meghan pins him there with a smug smile on her face. “How’d I do, boss?” she chimes, releasing him and jumping up to stand still smiling.

“That was good, I’ll give you that. Make sure you remember to pull the trigger and you’ll be fine” He strains, getting up of the floor and rubbing his back where he landed hard “Good job, Meg” he adds, hint of pride in his voice even as he tries to hide it.

“You’ll be out of a job in no time” she laughs, jokingly jabbing at him “God, remember when I was just a pencil pusher from HR? Now I can defeat the world’s deadliest assassin, no problem” she jokes as she begins her cool down, only smirking when August gives her another pointed look.

“Check your ego before you meet the rest of the team, please. Briefing is tomorrow, 0800. Don’t you dare be late or you’re off the team. I’m not kidding.” his voice is entirely serious, and she doesn’t miss his tone. He walks away as he talks, heading for the changing rooms.

“Hey, August?” Meghan calls out after him, he turns when he hears her, “Thanks. For everything. For coaching me and believing in me. I’m so ready for this, I wont let you down”

“I know” he smiles at her then continues towards the changing rooms. The truth is that even though he thinks she’s ready there’s that little nag of worry that his judgement is clouded by their friendship. What if he’s made the wrong choice because he wants his friend to succeed? What if his doubt only exists because of the friendship, but she’s actually perfect for the job? He goes with that conclusion, because anything else will keep him up all night.

—

Meghan arrives to the briefing 15 minutes early, enough to cause August to do a double take, not just because of that but because she looks more professional than she ever did even when she worked in the office. August wears his usual shirt and tie combo, dark pants, everything looking just a little too baggy on him in some places and too tight on his chest and biceps. She’s in a navy blue pant suit that looks tailored to her shape and compliments her wavy blonde hair.

“Who the hell dressed you?” he asks, when he goes to greet her. The first one in his team to arrive, which he’s still shocked about.

“Clara, of course. She’s the smart and stylish one in the relationship. She’d tell me to say hi, but she’s still mad that you ditched us at our house-warming” the party in question had been planned for weeks, since the couple had moved in to their first place together, but August hadn’t been able to stand watching the happy couple – sure they would be torn apart by Meghan’s work before long. His last relationship had ended that way only recently, and August was bitter as much as he hated to admit it.

“I didn’t ditch-” he stops himself, as the rest of the team start to appear and August goes full professional mode. It’s the way he had first presented himself to Meghan, when he’d had to talk to HR about a pay check issue and had refused to even crack a smile at her attempts to make jokes with him. It hadn’t taken him long to succumb to her charms though, she had made it her mission to befriend this scary man and make him laugh and before long they were sharing secrets in a dingy dive bar after work. The memory of the start of their bond makes Meghan smile, subtly, while she watches him become the man everyone but her expects him to be.

The briefing goes smoothly, although the director seems doubtful of some of August’s choices – namely young and inexperienced Meghan – but she doesn’t say anything outright and once the team receive the rough details of their assignment they’re done and out the door pretty quickly with orders to meet the next day at 6 am (Meghan grimaces, but only in her mind) and be ready to fly out.

The job itself isn’t complicated, it involves taking out a ring of international arms smugglers who have officially been deemed enemies of the state. Intel suggests they’re due to meet in Moscow (which presents it’s own problems) in two days. There’s so little information to go on that a full team of five has been assembled to cover all bases. In the back of his mind August worries about the lack of details, but he’s used to sources not being too forthcoming so he decides it’s not worth thinking on too much.

“Nervous?” August asks, as he walks with Meghan back to their cars

“A little, yeah. Is that bad?” she hesitates before answering, not looking at him.

“Honestly I’d be more worried about you if you weren’t. This is a big one, we don’t have much to go on, there’s potential for things to go wrong in a big way” his honesty is appreciated, and does somehow calm her nerves a little. He walks her to her car, where she pats him on the shoulder before opening the door.

“Good thing you’ve got the best of the best on your team then, huh? How’re you gonna feel when there’s a new Hammer in town?” she grins, looking back at him before closing the door. He rolls his eyes, the usual reaction to her over the top cockiness, as she drives off at a questionable speed.

—-

Everyone’s quiet on the jet, beyond planning strategies and mapping the building they’ll be positioned in there’s very little conversation or interaction. It’s not a bonding experience, by any means, August has never inspired anything like that as a team leader. He’s the quietest, going over plans again and again and Meghan knows better than to disturb him for now. The ride from the air base in to Moscow is less subdued, a team of people psyching themselves up for whatever it is they’re about to face. August gives his best pep talk, stern but surprisingly inspiring, as they make their way to the city and to the designated hide out where they’ll be set up.

Once inside the building, an abandoned office space, they make their way to the fifth floor. “Set up here” August orders, checking the area as he does.

The bullets come seemingly out of nowhere, flying through the air at the team, August rolls to the floor quick and sees most of the team have similar ideas, shielding themselves with whatever they can find. It’s their technician, who shouldn’t have been anywhere near this kind of danger, who takes the first bullet. August feels the spray of blood and hears the body drop, hears the shout of “Man down!” but the shots are coming in too thick and fast for him to do anything but pull out his gun and fire back.

“Here!” August shouts as the team frantically try to defend themselves against the unexpected enemy, “I’ll cover, get over here” indicating a fire exit they can at least barricade themselves behind for a moment. He can’t watch to make sure the team get there, trying to figure out a strategy as it dawns on him that this might have been a set-up. Were the CIA fed false information or did someone on the inside plan this?

“August what are you doing?! You can’t take out these guys alone?” he hears Meg shout over the chaos, sees out of the corner of his eye as she breaks away from the rest of the team gun in hand. In the fray professionalism doesn’t even cross her mind, she doesn’t care that he’s her team leader – just that he’s a friend in danger.

“Barnes. Get back behind me, this is-Jesus!” August curses as a bullet grazes his arm, no real damage but a shock nevertheless.

“Aug you’re not the only person who’s good with a firearm, let me cover”

Keeping one eye on the enemy, and one on the team getting to safety isn’t helped by Meghan’s interfering. She’s right, he knows, but August isn’t ready to risk his brand new team when he can cover them while they get away from the gunfire. She just doesn’t seem to get it though, equally concerned for her friends well-being as she steps to the front-line, hoping to cover him so he can get behind the door.

“Barnes, I can’t-”

“FUCK” August hears Meghan’s scream before he sees her hit the floor, clutching her stomach as pain rips through her. August has to bury the panic deep the moment he hears it, because otherwise he’s going to be the next one taken out when he runs to her without even thinking.

“Meg! Shit! Meg, don’t move OK” August shouts, his reaction strong and immediate. He can’t lose her this way, no way. “Someone get her, I’m covering. Go!” he shouts the order at the team, reloading his gun and firing in the general direction of the shooters while trying to make sure she’s carried to safety, following after and closing the heavy door behind him.

His team are already using whatever scraps they can salvage to barricade the door, but it’s clear it won’t hold for long. They need to get out of there but all August can thing of is Meghan’s blood, drenching her clothes now as she cries out in pain. The wound is obvious and bloody, potentially fatal if she doesn’t get medical attention and quickly. Not only that, but she’s fading quickly, wheezing and crying as August puts pressure on the wound.

“Meg, Meg. Stay with me. I’ve got you” August tells her, voice surprisingly smooth despite the carnage. He picks her up and tells the others “Down here, quick. We have to get back to the van”

How he manages to stay reasonably calm, professional and carry his quickly deteriorating best friend to some kind of safety is anyone’s guess. In August’s head everything is a blur, he can hear his heart beating faster than ever, can see her bright smile fading in his minds eye. It can’t happen like this, not on his watch, he can’t go through telling Clara that he couldn’t save her. This isn’t what was supposed to happen.

The gunfire starts again just as they’re reaching the van, no more casualties besides some bruises by the time the start driving away as fast as the vehicle will take them, one team member less, the other bleeding out on the floor. “We were set up!” the team echoes August’s own thoughts from earlier, but his attention is on Meghan.

“August” her voice is going, weak. All the colour drained from her, eyes closing even as she speaks “sorry” she whispers. The first aid kit they have, the medical knowledge on hand, is barely enough for her and even though the casualty is called in for immediate assistance at the nearest medical centre he already fears the worst.

“No, you don’t get to be sorry. It wasn’t your smartest move, but you didn’t do anything wrong. Keep looking at me.” he shakes her, gently, to keep her conscious.

“Keep an eye on her for me, please?” she whispers, slurring the last words.

“Don’t need to, that’s your job. How far away are we?” He speaks to Meghan, all but cradling her body which is going limp and colder each second, then to the driver who tells him there’s a covert facility nearby.

The five minutes it takes to get there feel like hours to August, whose heart is still pumping at extremes. He can’t unpack all of the things he feels for her; his nosy, annoying, hilarious, reckless friend. Not here on the dirty floor of a van as he watches her slip away with every second. He wants to, but he has to stay in control, for the team and for her. He has to get her help, he has to find out what went wrong, recover the body of his colleague left behind.

But right now, all August wants to do is scream.


End file.
